The present invention relates generally to a container assembly having a container and a lid that can be secured to the base of the container when not in use, and a set of container assemblies each including a container and a matching lid, wherein the container assemblies are capable of being stacked on and nested within one another.
Container assemblies consisting of a lid and a container are known. These products have many applications, but are particularly useful for food storage. When not in use, assemblies that can be nested within one another are preferred, but must be stable when stored within one another so that they do not separate unintentionally. Further, container assemblies that are stackable upon one another during use (to reduce the amount of space required to store the stacked containers) must also be stable to avoid spilling the contents of the containers.
Consumers demand containers which come in a variety of shapes and volumetric sizes. Such variations in shapes and sizes, however, create problems with designing container assemblies that are both nestable and stackable. That is, containers which easily nest with one another are usually not easy to stack and vice-versa.
Although container assemblies that nest within one another for compact storage, or that stack upon one another, are known, drawbacks exist. For example, since storage containers are widely used to transport food between locations, one drawback of prior art containers is that the lids are often mismatched, lost or misplaced when removed from the corresponding container. Without a lid, the sealed, self-contained portability function of the assembly is substantially reduced, and the contents may be subject to spilling or contamination. Further, without a properly fitted lid on one container, it is difficult to stably stack another item on that container.
Additionally, many containers are inherently unstable, or otherwise susceptible to tipping when stacked. This problem reduces stackability and leads to inefficient use of available storage space, and can contribute to the loss of stored goods if the stack shifts or becomes dislodged.
Further, many known nesting container assemblies have flaws which limit their use. For example, with many nesting assemblies, it is difficult to retrieve a lid when nested since lids tend to remain inside the next largest size container. Moreover, if the user chooses not to nest the containers when not in use, the containers must be stacked during this storage period. This is problematic since the height of the stack increases as containers are added. This significantly reduces the number of containers which may be stored within a given storage space, especially when the height of the storage space is limited.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a container assembly having a lid which may be mechanically locked to the base of a corresponding container and which can be nestably received as a container-lid assembly unit within another container assembly of the set. It would also be desirable to provide a set of container assemblies which may be nested completely within the largest container of the set. Additionally, it would be desirable for each container assembly of the set to be individually retrievable from a nested configuration as a unit, including both the container and the corresponding lid. Further, it would be desirable to provide a set of container assemblies that facilitate overall stacking stability, when the stacked containers are empty or full.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a container assembly in which the lid is locked onto the base of the container when the container is not in use, thereby preventing loss of the lid and providing easy retrieval of the complete container assembly from the nested configuration. A further object of the invention is to provide a set of container assemblies which offer highly compact storage, since the height of the nested set is equal to the height of the largest container assembly when its lid is locked to its base.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a container assembly is provided which includes a container having a base and a sidewall. The sidewall has an inner surface and an outer surface and extends upwardly and outwardly from the base toward an upper end. The upper end defines an opening in the container which is bound by the sidewall and the base. The upper end has a rounded ridge extending therefrom and the base has a peripheral edge. The assembly also includes a flexible lid having a first rim and a second rim, with the first and second rims being radially spaced from one another and extending downwardly from an undersurface of the lid. During storage, the lid attaches to the container in a first position proximate the peripheral edge of the base via the first rim, and, during use, the lid attaches to the container at a position proximate the rounded ridge of the upper end of the sidewall via the second rim, thereby covering the opening in the upper end of the container. In this way, the lid can be secured to the base of the container when not in use to avoid loss. In addition, the lid can also be secured to the base of the container to enhance the lateral stability of the container by increasing the footprint of the overall container. This is especially useful when serving contents from the container while it is positioned on a table, for example.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of the container assemblies are dimensioned so as to nest within one another when not in use. The height of each container is also selected such that the overall height of the nested containers does not exceed the height of the tallest container of the set.
Additional objects, advantages, and other novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the detailed description and drawings that follow.